On August 14, 1994, Harry Browne gave a speech in the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California announcing his candidacy for President of the United States. In order to win the Libertarian Party’s nomination, he continued to give speeches at libertarian state conventions all across America until in July, 1996 he won the nomination at the National Convention in Washington, D.C.

In addition to giving political stump speeches he gave fundraising speeches, and talk radio, television, and print interviews along a campaign trail that stretched from Maine to Hawaii. Then Harry did it all again when the Libertarian Party nominated him as their presidential candidate in 2000. And afterwards he hosted his own political talk radio show.

Although Harry gave many political speeches in the latter part of his life, he was a well-known investment advisor and writer for over thirty years prior to running for president. And during that time he gave speeches at economic, financial, and investment conferences and seminars all across the United States and overseas.

The writer, journalist, and publisher of U.S. & World Early Warning Report for Investors, Richard Maybury (pen name Uncle Eric), gave Harry one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever heard when introducing him at a conference. He said, “In my opinion, Harry Browne is simply the best libertarian writer ever - and that puts him at the head of the line that includes Henry David Thoreau, Emerson, Jefferson, and H.L. Mencken among others. When it comes to explaining the tough subjects nobody has ever done it better than Harry.”

All of Harry’s speeches, whether they were about economics, politics, or self-help, were grounded in the libertarian philosophy of personal responsibility and freedom from government. All the ideas he presented were his own and unique. And the ideas flowed from a single principle - each person thinks for himself and decides for himself no matter how much other people try or want to believe that they can control him with social pressure, regulations, or laws.

The President of InterShow, Kim Githler, said, “Our programs have included such speakers as Ronald Reagan, Henry Kissinger, Gerald Ford, Boone Pickens, William Buckley and many more. But Harry Browne is an all time favorite. He is articulate and witty. His speeches are always very interesting and enlightening. He’s always rated in the top percentile.”

Sharon Harris, president of the Advocates for Self-Government said, “Harry quickly developed a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest-ever communicators of the ideas of liberty. Harry was eminently quotable. Answers seemed to be at his fingertips. He didn’t grope for phrases, he didn’t stumble off-topic. His speeches, public appearances, debates, and interviews were sprinkled with pithy, thought-provoking, memorable, and frequently humorous remarks.”

In addition to the twelve speeches in this book, I’ve included several items that I thought you might enjoy reading.

Resume for speaker’s bureaus that Harry wrote after the 2000 campaign. It includes a brief bio, speech topics, and other information.

Short list of topics that I found on his computer that declares those things that he’d never discuss in one of his campaign speeches.

Outline of one of Harry’s political stump speeches.

An article that Harry wrote for his newsletter Harry Browne’s Special Reports (published 1974-1997) that he turned into a well-received speech at investment seminars and conferences titled, The 16 Golden Rules of Financial Safety.

Outline for his speech, In Praise of American Business.

Original c1970s manuscript for the speech, I Dreamed They Repealed the 20th Century - a very different speech from his 1994 version.

Short updated biography.

In my opinion, Harry was not only the best libertarian writer ever - he was also the best libertarian communicator ever. I hope you’ll enjoy reading his speeches. And I hope you’ll learn a little along the way about free markets, a free society, and how you can find freedom in an unfree world.

Testimonials

"Everything Browne writes merits the closest attention, and in this, his self-proclaimed last book on investing, he here presents a sort of summa of the common-sense wisdom he has garnered from thirty years of watching the rise and fall of markets - and he does so with his customary directness, clarity, and humility. He remains in a class by himself, and many of us will always be in his debt for the uncommon ideas he has expressed so ably. And above all for his own example - for the standard he has set."